Edward s



@uiten taten j'ateal @fitta EDWARD S; EITGHIE, or BEOOKLINE, MAssAoHUsnTTs ALetters Patent No. ,511,218, dated November 19, 1.867.

IMPROVEMENT IE runfrnnrs. y

To ALL'PERSONS T0 wHoM' THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME:

`.Be it known that I, EDWARD S. RITCIIIE, of Brookline, in the county of yNorfolk, and State'o` Massachusetts,have made a new and useful Invention having Reference to Air-Pumps; and do hereby declare the same to 'vbo fully described inthe following specification, and represented in the accompanying drawing, which denotesa vertical section of an air-pump barrel and its piston, as 4provided with my invention.

In such drawing, A denotes the said barrel, B the piston-head, and C the stem or rod of such piston-head. This stem or rod extends intoan air-duct, e, made axially within the yheadB, and terminating at its bottom in a conical ,valve-seat, a, within which is a conical valve, b, which, at its lesser base, is fixed to the lower endcof therodC. y' A A plate, d, provided'witha series of holes, e, made through it, is fastened to the lower part of the piston,- head B, by means of screws f, and serves as an abutment for the valve-head b to strike against, when the pistonf rod is pressed down, so as to force the valve b off its.' seat a. v

i Sundry eductionl passages g go through the upper head it of the barrel A, and open intoa valve-box. or dome, D, screwed into or fixed -upon the top'h,there being an escape pipe or passage, E, leading out of the v head and from such dome. Y

v In the lower head z' of the barrel is a conical valve-seat, c, which communicates with a'vertical and cylindrical passage, Z, from which an induction pipe, m, extends. This latter pipe is' to open communication between the barrel and theglass receiver of the airpump.

A conical valve, '0, provided with aprismatic extension or-guide, 1tis placed within the seat 7e. The said stem extends into'the passage l, and serves to guide the valve in its vertical movements.

The rod gof the valve o extends through the piston-head B, and a stuing-box, p, formed therein. .At the lower end of .the rod q is a cylindrical neck, r, having a diameter less than that ofthe rod, and going through a hole, s, in a plate, t, which is screwed to the upper surfaceof the valve. Thehole has a diameter less thanrthat ofthe rod, but greater than that of the neck, and such neck terminates in a head, u, having a diameter larger than that of the hole s. V'Ihere is a chamber, v, made in the valve to receive the head u, and allow it to play laterally therein. y e

Furthermore, to the valve o, and so as to project from its upper edge, and over and beyond the seat of the valve, in manner as represented in the drawing, I aix a thin, annular flap-valve, w, of oiled silk, or its equiv alent, whose purpose is to render certain the closing of the valve-seat c, when the valve o is depressed therein;

It is a highly useful auxiliary to the said seat and its valve. The neck 7', the hole s, and the head u, admit the valve o, to adjust itself laterally to its seat, however the rod q may become eccentric with reference to the seat of the valve.

Within a chamber, rv, made in the upper head of' the pump-barrel, and so as to open out of the same, is a lever, F, one of whose arms extends directly over the upper end of the valve-rod q. The tail or other arm of i the said lever projects out of the chamber :r a short distance, so that when the pistou-head B is in the act'of approaching the head t, such piston-head Bmay be carried against the tail of the lever, so as to cause such 4 l lever to be moved in a manner to press down the rod q, and force the valve o down upon its seat. In this air-pump the valves'o b are operated, not by the suction and pressure of the air', but automatically" by mechanism applied to them. They will open and close, therefore, however attenuated the air may bein the vessel from which it is to be extracted. The instant'the piston may be raised in the barrel, the friction of -thv stuffing-box on the valve-rod'q will cansey the valve a to be raised off its seat, and it will rise until the valve-5r ,ad maybring up against the lever'lj, and cause such to abut against the top of its chamber .'v. After this v11 pston-head, during its further elevation, will slide on the rod q. Just previous to the piston-head reachin the upper end of the barrel, it will come in contact with the tail of the lcver F, andwill move such lever, s

effect the closing of the valve o, preparatory to the next descent of the piston. The piston-rod in des duiding.'y lwill force the valve b oits'seat a, so as to allow the air below the piston to pass through the valve-seit a, @11d the passage e, while the piston may be descending. lNext, the pist0n-rod, by pressure against the cafP-Plt ,df will drive the head B downward. During the upward stroke of the piston, the air contained in that Part-0f the barrel which is over the piston will be expelled through the passages g, over which and within thelrdom D yif! if valve, as represented in the drawing. New, were there no lever F, or its equivalent, to operate the valverod q, during the ascent, and by means of the piston,'the piston would have to descend a short distance before it would eeet the closing of the valve. Consequently, a small amount of air would be forced back through the lower valve-seat before closure of the valve would take place. `.This would prevent a thorough extraction ofthe air from the receiver of the air-pump, but, by means of the lever F, the closure of the valve o is effected while the piston is just at or in close proximity with the terminus of its upward stroke, and before the opening of the valve b.

From the above it will be seen that I have combined with the barrel, the' piston, and th'episton and induetion valves and their seats, mechanism for automatieally'operating, or opening and closing both the said valves,

independently of the elastic force of the air. It is not nev to so operate the piston-valve, but it is new, as I believe, to so aetuate both the valves, and especially the induction-valve, the same enabling me tol produce a much higher degree of attenuation or extraction of air from the receiver of the air-pump than has heretofore been obtained. v i

I therefore elaim as my invention the following; that is to say- I claim the combination as well as the arrangement of the lever F, the rod q, and the stuiiing-box p, with the4 valve o, the piston B, and the barrel A;

I also claim the application of the valve-rod q to the valve o, so as to be movable laterally relatively thereto, in manner substantially as and for the purpose described. l l

I also claim the combination and arrangement of the annular flap or auxiliary valve zo, with the valve o and Vits seat 7c.

Ialso claim the combination of the prismatie guide n, or its equivalent, with the valve o and the passage l, and with the red q applied to the valve o, so as to be movable laterally therein, or with respect to it, as specified.

E. S. RITCI-IIE.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, SAMUEL N. PIPER. 

